Warm Apple Cinnamon Muffins

               Warm Apple Cinnamon Muffins

    With Mother’s Day coming up I thought I would find a quick and easy recipe for muffins. Usually my Family does a big brunch and sometimes we all contribute so all the mom’s don’t have to cook!

   This year is a little bit different because now that I have two moms (mother-in-law), we will be celebrating on different days. The day before Mother’s Day we will be with Brock’s mom and then on Sunday we will be with mine. Sometimes with everybody’s crazy schedules you have to split up days, drive long hours and make sacrifices so everyone feels some love.

   I am so grateful to have my mom. She has been through so much with me and never exceeds to amaze me. She is truly my hero.

   And now that I have another mom in my life I am even more blessed. What a great woman who raised a great son to be my husband! I give you props mom-in-law!

   I can’t wait to be a mother of my own someday. I know that when the time comes, it will be well worth the wait. And I will have the best mom’s to be there for advice, love and support.

   Now, no matter how you are a mother; whether it is by giving birth yourself, having a stepchild, by adopting, by surrogacy, by egg donor, by being an aunt, or a grandma, you are all amazing women and deserve this day to sit back and relax and have a dang muffin!

   Now, who doesn’t like muffins at brunch, with a big mimosa on Mother’s day?

What you need:

Batter:

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup olive oil or vegetable oil (I used Olive Oil)

1 egg (I used one mashed banana as a substitute)

1/3 cup whole milk or any milk substitute (I used almond milk)

1 apple, peeled, cored and diced

Topping:

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup flour

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup butter or butter substitute, very cold, cubed

What you need to do:

1.Preheat oven to 400F. Line 12 muffin wells with papers and set aside.

2. For muffin batter, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl.

3.Mix in oil, egg and milk and fold in apples. Tip* if mixture is not watery enough just add a tad bit more milk until you get the right consistency.

4.Evenly distribute batter between muffin wells, filling them 2/3 of the way full.

5. For topping, whisk together sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl. With a pastry cutter, forks, or your hands, cut in butter until the mixture resembles crumbs.

6.Spoon topping over the muffin batter, distributing it evenly…seriously use it all. It’s sooooo good.  

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

8. Now eat Mama, eat. Happy Mother’s day! 

Happy eating and love to all those Mama’s out there!

Recipe adapted by Quickneasyrecipes

Orange Infused French Toast

        Orange Infused French Toast

                                               

Brock just started having weekends off (yay!) so I wanted to make something special for Sunday morning breakfast. My mom would always make this French toast for special occasions (can you tell I learned how to cook from my mom?). This was always so yummy. Even though it's heavy French toast, the orange flavor really lightens it up. If your having people over for the weekend or just by yourself this is what you should make for breakfast, or lunch, or dinner, I won’t judge.

Thanks mom for the recipe!

What you need:

4 large eggs

½ cup of milk or any substitute for milk

½ vanilla

½ tsp of cinnamon

1 tbsp of orange zest

Juice of a whole orange

7-8 pieces of bread (you can use regular bed, sourdough, or French bread, whatever!)

Powdered Sugar for topping

More orange zest for topping

What you need to do:

1.  In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, orange zest and orange juice until evenly combined.

2. Soak 2-3 bread slices (however many you can fit into your mixing bowl) until soaked through.

3. Using a large frying pan over medium heat place soaked bread slices and cook until browned, about 2 minutes per side.

4. Repeat with remaining bread slices.

5. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and orange zest. Serve with your favorite maple syrup! You can also add some fresh strawberries, chopped nuts, or whatever your heart desires! 

Enjoy and happy eating! 

Shredded Chicken Fajitas

                                   Shredded Chicken Fajitas 
                         in the Crockpot 

        I woke up on Saturday morning, with the sound of raindrops and foggy cold weather. I instantly wanted to use my crockpot to make something warm and comforting. I walked into my kitchen and thought, hmmm... what am I going to make. First off, I didn't want to go to the store and secondly I wanted it to be easy since I had a ton to do that day. 

       I took a look into my fridge and this is what I came up with, Shredded Chicken Fajitas! Every ingredient I used I already had in my kitchen!

What you need: 


Olive oil
1 large white onion
3 large bell peppers 
( I had green, orange, and yellow)
1/2 green jalapeño, seeded and minced
2-3 medium sized Organic chicken breasts
2 cups of water
1 can of red enchilada sauce ( I had a large can and only used half)
salt and pepper
garlic powder
chili powder
sprinkle of lawry's seasoning
splash of hot sauce

( this is the sauce I has in my pantry) 

What you need to do:

1. Sprinkle some Olive oil in the bottom of your crockpot. 
2. Cut onion, bell peppers, and Jalapeño and put into crockpot.
3. Next put chicken breasts on top of the onions, bell pepper mix. 
4. Add water and enchilada sauce.
5. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, chili powder (not too much), Lawry's and hot sauce. I really didn't measure my 
seasoning. Just go with it! 
6. Turn on Low and cook for 8 hours. Once done shred chicken with two forks and serve with tortillas and all of your favorite toppings! 

Enjoy and Happy Eating!







(these cute little dishes were given to me from my parents from Cancun, Mexico!)

Pesto Pasta

                               

                            Pesto Pasta

       Usually I don't find Basil in the grocery store around this time. When I went to Trader Joe's there it was.  I grabbed it and knew exactly what I was going to make for dinner! I love pesto anytime of year even if this pasta is more commonly known as a summer dish. I could probably eat this everyday, I think Brock could too! Thanks to my mom I have this recipe stored in my mind! 


What you need:

1 packet of angel hair spaghetti 
1/4 cup of raw almonds 
1-2 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled  
1 bushel of fresh basil, washed and destemmed 
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

What you need to do:

1. Cook spaghetti as directed on the package.
2. While spaghetti cooks, in a food processor, grind raw almonds until fine. Add garlic and process together. 
3. Add half of the basil into the food processor and parmesan cheese. Process until all mixed. 
4. Add a splash of olive oil to get a smooth consistency going. 
5. Add rest of basil and process until every ingredient is mixed. 
6. Now add salt and pepper to taste. ( the pesto is good all by itself, trust me!) 
7. Add olive oil until desired consistency. 
8. Tip* always taste as you go. If you think the pesto needs more parmesan cheese, garlic or pepper, add it! Whatever you taste buds tell you! 

Serve warm or chilled! Enjoy! 

Happy eating everyone! 

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

                       

                Spicy Black Bean Burgers for 

                     Superbowl weekend!

      With this weekend being Superbowl weekend there is going to be a lot of food and by a lot of food, I mean a lot of junk food. Oh, and a lot of football and awesome commercials!  

  When there is going to be so many food choices, there is not always a healthy or for some, a vegetarian option.   

   I recently had a coworker give me a new Vegan cookbook called How it All Vegan! by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer.  

  This recipe was in the cookbook and I knew I immediately I wanted to try it! I love anything spicy. Although this recipe was not super spicy, I did add a few red pepper flakes even though it wasn't called for in the recipe. 

What you need: 

1/2 cup flour 

1 small onion, chopped 

2 cloves garlic, minced 

1/2 tsp dried oregano 

1 small hot or jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced ( I used a jalapeño and I did keep some seeds for extra spiciness!) 

1/2 medium red pepper, diced

1/2 cup of corn niblets 

1 tbsp of olive oil 

1 can of black beans, drained and mashed 

1/2 cup of bread crumbs (you may add more if the burgers aren't sticking together)

1/2 tsp cumin 

pinch of salt and pepper

2 tsp of chili powder

pinch of red pepper flakes (optional!) 

What you need to do:

1. Pour flour onto a plate for coating and set aside. 

2. In a saucepan, saute the onions, garlic, oregano, hot pepper, red pepper and corn in the olive oil until the onions are translucent. Once done set aside for later.

3. In a large bowl, mash the black beans with a fork or potato masher. 

4. Stir in the sautéed vegetables, bread crumbs, cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder, and red pepper flakes.  Mix well. 

5. Divide and shape in to 4-5 patties. Tip* really squish the mixture together to make sure the patty's stay intact. 

6. Lay down each patty in flour, coating each side. 

7. Cook on a lightly oiled frying pan on medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes, until both sides are browned. These are pretty delicate patty's, so flip carefully! 

8. Serve with your favorite condiments and toppings! I used spring mix for my lettuce and guacamole, which I bought. Yes, from a store. Just being honest people!  

                   



Hope you enjoy this Superbowl weekend with your friends and family! 

Paleo vs. Vegan

                What the Heck are Paleos and Vegans?

Recently I had a friend ask me to do a 30-day Paleo Challenge with her. We both have been working out hard and she thought it would be a great way to try a different eating style, incorporate more healthy eating habits and well, to get rid of those nasty grains.  At first I was a little terrified, not because I didn't want to eat healthy but because lately I have been eating more of a plant-based diet. I eat a whole lot of legumes, which is totally not Paleo.  And did I mention I am obsessed with peanut butter! I thought, I am really going to suck at this!

I thought to myself how am I going to do this? Paleo is certainly different from a plant-based/vegan diet, or so I thought. 

 In the past year I have done a lot of research on how food can really help our bodies and how to live a healthier lifestyle. I’m not an expert by any means; it’s just what I am really interested in.  An article that I came across really got me thinking about the differences and similarities of a Paleo and Vegan diet. Go to this link to check out a great article that I really connected with. 

The Paleo diet consists of mostly organic grass-fed meats, fish and seafood, fresh fruits and veggies, eggs, nuts and seeds and healthy oils such as olive, walnut, flaxseed, avocado, and coconut. The paleo diet stays away from processed foods, potatoes, refined sugar, dairy, cereal grains, legumes (including peanuts), salt, and refined vegetable oils such as soybean, corn, and canola. The main reason people decide to do this diet is to get back to our Paleolithic ancestors.  This is believed to be the diet about 2.5 million years ago. People believe that we are not adapted to eat all of the highly processed foods we have today and that this is the best diet to a healthy strong body. Paleos eat as if they were back in time as a “hunter and gather”.

            The Vegan diet primarily consists of fresh fruits and veggies, all grains, legumes, nuts, seeds and healthy oils such as olive, coconut, vegetable. The Vegan diet avoids all animal products. That means no meat, no dairy, no eggs, and no honey. Vegans are also against using products like leather, silk, fur, wool and even some cosmetics.Vegans believe that our bodies do not need animal products to survive. They are compassionate about all animals and the environment. They believe that this is the best diet for preserving our bodies and the planet. 

What I have learned while doing research, is that the Paleo diet and the Vegan diet are more similar than you think.

What Paleos and Vegans both agree on:

Organic fruits and Veggies are great.

Nuts are good.

Dairy is not good.

Fast food is gross.

Whole foods and food close to its natural state are the best.

Avoid processed foods.

The conventional meat industry needs a lot of changes.

Fuel your body with natural, clean foods!

Now I think the point of all this is that everyone should eat foods that are whole, natural, clean, and organic, when possible. Who can argue with that? The food we eat fuels and helps our bodies do everyday stuff; go to work, do laundry, work out at the gym, fill the car with gas, go to the grocery store, or cook for our families.

I am not saying that everyone needs to choose to be a Paleo or a Vegan. I think that all of us could take some advice from these lifestyles and incorporate more whole and natural foods into our daily meals. Let’s give our bodies the real food they need. Let’s get rid of the standard American way of eating! Don’t drive to a drive-thru, instead drive to a park or the beach and bring your own goodies! Let’s get out and move, and eat good food for our beautiful lives and bodies!